Moon attacks Park over her father's political legacy

Opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in on Tuesday opened fire on rival ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye, saying he will not visit the grave of her father and former President Park Chung-hee unless she and her supporters offer an apology over human rights violations of the past.    Moon made the remark while responding to conservatives' criticism over his decision to skip a visit to the gravesite of former President Park on his way to pay respects at the tomb of former President Kim Dae-jung during his visit to the National Cemetery in southern Seoul on Monday.    Kim is the liberal predecessor of former President Roh Moo-hyun, for whom Moon had served as chief of staff.    In a contrasting strategy aimed at promoting national unity, Park Geun-hye visited the gravesites of both conservative and liberal presidents right after winning the ruling Saenuri Party's presidential primary last month.    Saenuri claimed Moon's actions mirror those of late President Roh, whom conservatives blame for dividing up the country along idealogical lines and hurting national unity.    Moon, a civil rights lawyer-turned-politician who won the Democratic United Party's (DUP) presidential ticket on Sunday, said the Saenuri Party can trace its roots to the Democratic Republican Party and the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), hinting that the current ruling camp must apologize for harsh authoritarian rule and associated abuses. The Democratic Republican Party was set up by President Park in 1963, while the DJP was formed in 1981 by Gen. Chun Doo-hwan.    President Park, who ruled the country for 18 years, is widely credited with bringing about South Korea's rapid economic development, but he is criticized for harsh suppression of all forms of dissent to his rule.    Moon stressed that without an apology for the past, there can be no national unity.    "If heartfelt remorse is expressed, I will be the first to pay respects to President Park," he said.    Moon, meanwhile, toured a rural region hit hard by Typhoon Sanba as he stepped up efforts to reach out and listen to the plight of ordinary people with little over three months remaining before voters pick the country's next chief executive.    The candidate helped with cleanup work in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and met people who suffered property losses due to strong winds and rain.    "The trip to Sangju is in line with Moon's pledge to espouse politics that strives to work closely with the people," a key adviser said. The Democratic United Party's presidential candidate Moon Jae-in (R) speaks with a resident of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, as he inspects the town hit hard by Typhoon Sanba on Sept. 18, 2012. (Yonhap) Moon said in his party's candidacy acceptance speech that he will try to "heal" the suffering of the people if he is elected president.    The candidate's election campaign team, meanwhile, said even if Ahn Cheol-soo announces his bid to run for president on Wednesday, there will be no real change in the DUP candidate's campaign itinerary. The party named Reps. Park Young-sun, Noh Young-min and Lee Hak-young and former lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum to head Moon's election campaign strategy committee.    Political pundits speculated that if Ahn opts to run, he and Moon will try to iron out a deal so a single candidate will compete against the ruling Saenuri Party's contender Park.    Ahn, the founder of anti-virus software firm AhnLab and present dean of a convergence science graduate school at Seoul National University (SNU), is popular with young people and urban dwellers.    Polls in the past showed the public favoring Ahn over Moon, but recent surveys revealed the DUP candidate surpassing the SNU professor in a hypothetical race to pick a single candidate to represent the opposition.